


Iceberg, Right Ahead!

by CanonUnknown



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26527069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanonUnknown/pseuds/CanonUnknown
Summary: The year is 1912. The world's most famous ship sets off from Southampton, England. What would happen if our favourite army doctor and detective were on board? I like to think it would go something like this.Titanic AU. Follows some points from the movie but I want to make it as unique as I can. Thanks for reading, have a good day ^^
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. Day 1: April 11th 10:26pm

John stood leaning against the railing, overlooking the water lapping up at the ship. He was shrouded in darkness with only the moonlight and the few faint deck lights to illuminate him. After returning from the third-class drinking lounge, the atmosphere upon the deck was positively tame and that is exactly what the blonde needed at that moment. He had hoped that America would bring better things than in England. 

He had done all that he could for that county. He had studied medicine in order to serve as an army doctor in the war and yet couldn’t find a job when he returned to London after being injured. What more did people want from him? A better status presumably. John Watson had very few possessions to his name. He was able to scrape together all that he could to be able to afford a ticket. The money he had left from his army pension was running thin so he knew that this trip to the free world was his last chance to make a name for himself. 

A sip of his dark ale and the soft sigh that fell from his lips was all he did as he stared into the water below him. The black swirling abyss seemed to almost draw him in, the urge to jump was getting increasingly strong but he believed deep down that there had to be something better than this for him. 

“If you’re going to jump, I wouldn't recommend it.” A deep voice echoed from behind him but John didn’t turn, he simply stared down into the water.

“The water is around freezing.” The voice continued, closer this time, louder. “Hypothermia would set in, in 15 minutes or less. A horrible way to go, in my opinion.”

“And who are you?” The soldier finally replied as he turned around to look at the man who had started this conversation. What he saw shocked him more than he would like to believe. 

The figure that stood easily over 6 feet and was dressed in a form-fitting black waistcoat with a deep purple shirt underneath. He had raven curls that framed the top of his face and eyes that looked as though they were boring his way into his soul. It was obvious from his dress that the man was not from this class, nor was he from second.

“Why would it matter to you if I jumped or not. I’m sure you could walk away and continue your life without another glance.” John raised an eyebrow and smirked softly, taking another long sip of his dark ale. The man hummed and took a few steps towards him. From a pocket inside his waistcoat, the tall stranger removed an expensive-looking tin. From which he took out a cigar and offered it to John. 

John shook his head. “An awful habit.” He said casually.

The man shrugged and lit the cigar before taking a long draw of it himself. “Not the worst habit. And I suppose that I could walk away but I know you don’t really want to die, doctor.”

The blonde was once again shocked. “How could you possibly have known that I was a doctor...Who told you?”

“It’s not a case of who told me, it’s what told me. I simply observed...Sherlock Holmes.” The man, who he now knew to be Sherlock introduced himself and held out a hand for John to shake. John took it and shook it firmly.

“John Watson. I’ve never heard a name like yours before Mr Holmes, I like it.”

“Just Sherlock please and...thank you.”

John nodded and slowly sat down on a bench that overlooked the railing and the view. He left enough space so that Sherlock could sit down beside him and the raven did just that. “So…” The blonde began, glancing over to the man beside him. “How come you’re here with me? The first night on a luxury ship and you're not enjoying it with family and friends?”

“Family and friends” Sherlock scoffed back. “You haven't had the misfortune of meeting my family. If you did, you’d see why I wouldn’t want to be with them. They’re all disappointed in me, comparing me to my older brother. They're stuck up and boring and they’re forcing me to marry when I get to America. Miss Molly Hooper. I can count the number of conversations we’ve had on one hand.” The taller male rattled off all of this information and John nodded in understanding. He didn’t have a great relationship with his family either.

His mother had passed away at an early age, his father had disowned him and kicked him out, apparently, he believed his son to be one of those homosexuals, and Harry was usually too drunk to be able to write back to him. She didn’t even know that John was leaving and he didn’t mind.

“They sound awful, I must say...but I can’t see why I’m better company. We don’t know anything about each other.” John had finished drinking so placed the glass on a table beside him gently before looking out across the water.

“Oh I wouldn’t say that. I know that you were an army medic but were discharged due to injury. You were living in London with a very small amount of money so you’re traveling to America for a better life. You have a poor relationship with your family and you have a brother who is alcoholic.” Sherlock grinned at him as John looked at him in disbelief.

“...That...That was incredible. You are brilliant.” He smiled softly and it was Sherlock’s turn to look quite taken back. “How could you possibly have known those things?”

The raven took a final draw of his cigar before putting it out and explaining. “Your haircut and the way you hold yourself suggest a military history. Your hands have scars from surgery, not battle and you were concerned at the idea of smoking, therefore, doctor. Your accent suggests London and your outfit tells me you were not living with too much money. Your watch however is quite expensive and if you had little money, you wouldn’t treat yourself so it was a gift. The side of it is engraved with the name Harry Watson and the scuffs and marks on the watch face are distinct to an alcoholic...How did I do?” 

Silence. It took a while for John to gather his thoughts and realise that Sherlock really had just worked out all of those things about him. “..Well I was an army doctor until I was shot in the shoulder...I was living in a bedsit in London...I think America holds better things for me...Harry did give me the watch but-”

“Brilliant, I got everything then. It’s quite rare that I get everything.” Sherlock interrupted with a small smile. John just cleared his throat to continue. 

“But...Harry is short for Harriet” John smiled at that and heard a voice call out Sherlock’s name from quite a distance. Sherlock frowned at that but it didn’t last long. “A sister, I should have known. That's my brother calling for me. Will you meet here tomorrow John? Tomorrow afternoon? Let's say two.” 

John nodded and watched the taller male stand. “Tomorrow it is.” The other nodded and headed up towards the first-class deck. John just stood, leaning against the railing, overlooking the water lapping up at the ship. An interesting man, that Sherlock was. Interesting indeed.


	2. Day 2: April 12th 1:57pm

A few minutes before 2, John Watson waited at the same bench that he had the pleasure of meeting Sherlock Holmes at the night before. It was different during the day, strange. Women in day dresses traversed the decks, talking with friends. Children ran around and played with their toys, pointing at things they had noticed on the vessel. Men done up in waistcoats sat at tables and smoked, drank and talked about things going on in their lives. It was busier, yes, but somehow still quite peaceful. 

John hated to be late and hoped his new companion felt the same so that he wouldn’t have to wait so long in anticipation. The blonde man had ran through all of the possibilities of what today may have in store for him and he felt like he was quite prepared for anything. 

The hands on his second-hand watch ticked past 2pm and all the soldier could do was sigh. Did Sherlock stand him up? He couldn’t have, surely not. Just as these thoughts entered his head, they were answered as the tall raven quickly descended the steps to the third class deck and over to John.

“Sorry about the delay. My brother kept insisting I tell him where I was going.” Sherlock panted softly as he had just ran to get there as quickly as possible. 

John chuckled softly and shook his head before speaking. “Did you tell him?”

“Of course not.” Was the reply with an exaggerated eye roll. The taller man sat on the same bench and John sat beside him. They sat in silence for a little while before the mood was comfortable enough to speak. Sherlock spoke first. 

“You didn’t end up jumping last night then.” He was still staring out over the water, rather than looking at John but it wasn’t in a rude way.

“No...No I changed my mind. Hypothermia doesn’t sound all too appealing anymore.”

“Good, because I thought about it and I’m not sure I could just walk away.” Sherlock looked a little confused despite him speaking. John didn’t ask further.

“You were able to...observe my entire life yesterday yet I still don’t really know a thing about you. Could you tell me more?” That got Sherlock to look over at him with a small smile, thinking of what to tell.

“Well, I have one sibling, my annoying older brother Mycroft. As a child, he would always tease me because I wanted to be a pirate. Now I tease him because he is putting on a considerable amount of weight, hilarious really. We’re going to America because my parents have arranged for me to get married, as I’ve said. And I want nothing more than to escape...I will, as soon as I get there. I’m not staying there for longer than needed.” He spoke calmly with a hint of annoyance in his voice. The blonde assumed that was present as he was talking about his family and not because John had asked him about it. 

Just as the doctor was about to question the other on what he did for a living, another man ran over. “Sherlock!” Instantly the other's eyes fell on him and he groaned audibly. “Oh, what do you want. Has Mycroft sent you to check up on me? If so, I don’t need babysitting.”

The man shook his head. “There's been a murder.” That turned John’s head. Why would this man tell Sherlock, who had just stood up with a grin on his face, that someone had been killed? “Brilliant. Yes, this is good, you may leave now detective I will be with you in a minute.” The man nodded and left.

John cleared his throat with a cough in order to get the other’s attention. “Sorry, a murder? How could that be brilliant? Why would he ask you? Who was he-”  
“Stop asking questions and let me answer.” Sherlock interrupted. “He was detective inspector Lestrade of the Scotland Yard. He and a few other police officers are travelling with my family for a conference in America. He asked me because I am a consulting detective, only one in the world. When the Scotland Yard are in over their heads, which is always, they come to me and I solve it for them.”

This was a lot of information that took a while for John to process but once he did he slowly nodded. “I suppose you should get to that then, seems important.”

Sherlock nodded and turned to leave before looking back to John and smiling. “You were a doctor, an army doctor, Are you a good one?”

“Very good,” John answered confidently.

“Would you like to come with me.”

“I would love to”

Sherlock grinned and began walking in the direction that Lestrade had run off too, John followed right behind him.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John followed Sherlock all the way to the first-class deck before they went below and towards the cabins. In a hallway, not too far from the stairs, a group of people were crowding around a doorway to a room. Inside, a man lay dormant on the floor, stab wounds littering his body. All the blonde could do was stare for a second before listening to Sherlock talking to some of the people there.

“Do we know his identity?” The man started and Lestrade nodded. “Yes, he worked for your brother, worked in his accounting department I believe. Andrew Carling.” Sherlock nodded and walked around the room, seemingly looking at everything other than the body.

By now, John was standing near the entrance of the room but moved a little closer. People had watched him arrive with the detective so they let him in. The detective inspector began speaking once again. 

“It’s clear to us, Mr Holmes, that the man was stabbed to death. The stab wounds are deep enough to kill a man easily, and they're in fatal places.” Lestrade looked clearly proud of himself but that pride was wiped off his face with Sherlock’s retort of “Don’t be ridiculous, detective.”

“The body received the stabs post mortem. You would expect wounds like these to bleed heavily but look, small stains at most, whereas it should be pooling around him. No, the method of death was-”

“Poisoning.” All of the eyes in the room turned to look at the small blonde man in poor clothing who had spoken. “Cyanide...The room smells of almonds and his skin has a pink tint...It was cyanide poisoning.” John nodded and glanced around at the others who mostly looked confused, and Sherlock who was grinning ear to ear. 

“Exactly!-”

“Wait, who are you and why are you here in first class?” Another man stepped out of the crowd to confront John, who was just about to explain when the raven stepped in to help. “Leave him be Mycroft. This is Dr John Watson, I invited him to help with the case and look, he's already been more useful than the police here.”

Ah, so this man was Mycroft, Sherlock's brother. The man must have been a couple of inches taller than Sherlock with auburn hair and thinner eyes. His face showed no outward emotion, he just hummed softly. “On your head, be it.” 

With that, Sherlock went on looking around the room, muttering what he noticed out loud. “He was poisoned, yes, and the stab wounds were made after death. They are violent and show that the killer was aggressive, angry. The crime was done with passion however as the killer didn’t stab him to death. They wanted something more subtle, they wanted it to take longer. Was he travelling with anyone?” He then looked back over to the detective inspector who was writing down all that the man said. 

“Just his secretary, her room is a few doors down.”

It was if fireworks went off in the raven’s head as he heard this. “Easy. If you go to her room I expect you will find her dead as well, the same method with no wounds. They were having an affair. His wedding ring, look. It's clean on the inside so he clearly took it off a lot, when he was with her. The outside is dirty except for a few key points. He was playing with it, fidgeting with it. He was thinking. She wanted him to leave his wife, he said no, she killed him in an act of love and then herself so that they could be together.” Sherlock stood and faced the silent group of people. A few of the police officers went to go to her room as the detective brushed his hands together and turned back to John.

“Thank you, for identifying the poison. I’m yet to read too heavily into the post mortem effects of certain chemicals so you helped.” He spoke with a small smile that John reciprocated.

“It was no problem. I didn’t know if I should have spoken or not but I’m glad I did.”

“Oh, you must have dinner with us tonight!” Sherlock explained as John looked a little confused.

“Dinner...with you and your family?”

“He can not dine with us Sherlock, use that head of yours.” It was Mycroft's turn to butt in and in no time, the brothers were arguing. Words were being thrown around to insult the other and all the while, John just stood and watched before coughing to stop them both.

“Right, it’s settled. John can borrow one of your men’s dinner jackets and he can come and dine with us. He helped us solve a murder, Mycroft, it is the least we can do. John-” He looked from his brother who wore a face of dramatic annoyance to the blonde.

“-Meet me on the third-class deck at 6pm and we will get you a jacket. You will eat with us. I’ll see you later.” Sherlock nodded and left, like that.

John was left standing in the room with people watching him so he just sighed and left before he was told to leave. He realised quite quickly that Sherlock just expected him to follow his orders...and for the most part, he would. Despite planning for every possible outcome of the day, this was not something he was very ready for.

**Author's Note:**

> If there are any grammatical errors, please tell me and I will fix them. I have proofread it but there is a high chance that I've missed something. Thank you ^^


End file.
